The famous Nuremberg bratwurst is finger-sized, filled with
minced pork meat, spiced, and stuffed into sheep's intestines.
For centuries those intestines have come from Iran to the German
city. But recent events have led to an increase in the price of
the intestines, and consequently, the bratwurst,
Spiegel Online reports.

To make 1,000 bratwurst, a butcher would need 295 feet of sausage
skins, which cost about €6.30 ($8.44) in the summer of 2010, but
now costs about €17.20 ($23.15), Claus Steiner, a butcher whose
family has produced the sausage since 1975, told The
Local.

He explained that the price increase is not only because of
political tensions, but also because of an increase in
competition from places like China.

The European Union has rules laid down to protect the "original
Nuremberg bratwurst": they must be produced in Nuremberg, be 7 to
9 centimeters long, weigh a maximum of 25 grams (about 1 ounce),
and be made only with pork meat cased in sheep's intestines. So
producers can't swap out the costly sheep's intestines for less
costly alternatives.